Part 1: Individuals

1.1 Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data

1.1.1 Preliminary work to prepare tax returns

• 1.1.1.aUse of prior years' returns for comparison, accuracy, and carryovers for current year's returnpublished
• 1.1.1.bTaxpayer biographical information (e.g., date of birth, marital status, dependents, identity protection PIN, state issued photo ID)published
• 1.1.1.cResidency status and/or citizenship (e.g., citizen, visas, green cards, resident alien or non-resident alien, ITIN)published
• 1.1.1.dFiling requirements and due datepublished
• 1.1.1.eTaxpayer filing status (e.g., single, head of household)published
• 1.1.1.fSources of all worldwide taxable and nontaxable income (e.g., interest, wages, business, sales of property, dividends, rental income, flow- through entities, alimony received)published
• 1.1.1.gSources of applicable exclusions and adjustments to gross income (e.g., foreign earned income exclusion, retirement plans, HSAs, alimony paid, health insurance, self-employment tax)published
• 1.1.1.hSources of applicable deductions (e.g., itemized, standard)published
• 1.1.1.iQualifications for dependencypublished
• 1.1.1.jSources of applicable credits (e.g., education, foreign tax, retirement, child and dependent care, credit for other dependents, child tax credit)published
• 1.1.1.kSources of tax payments and refundable credits (e.g., withholding, estimated payments, earned income tax credit)published
• 1.1.1.lPrevious IRS correspondence with taxpayerpublished
• 1.1.1.mAdditional required returns filed and taxes paid (e.g., employment, gifts, international information returns, and other information returns)published
• 1.1.1.nSpecial filing requirements (e.g. foreign income, presidentially declared disaster areas, Form 1040-NR, injured spouse)published
• 1.1.1.oForeign account and asset reporting (e.g., FBAR, Form 8938)published
• 1.1.1.pMinor children's unearned income (Kiddie tax)published
• 1.1.1.qACA requirements (e.g., health insurance coverage, total household income, advanced premium tax credit, household size)published

1.2 Income and Assets

1.2.1 Income

• 1.2.1.aTaxability of wages, salaries and other earnings (e.g., earned income, statutory employee, tips)published
• 1.2.1.bInterest Income (e.g., taxable and nontaxable)published
• 1.2.1.cDividends and other distributions from mutual funds, corporations, and other entities (e.g., qualified dividends)published
• 1.2.1.dPersonal property rentalpublished
• 1.2.1.eGambling income and allowable deductions (e.g., Form W-2G, documentation)published
• 1.2.1.fTax treatment of forgiveness of debt (e.g., Form 1099C, foreclosures, insolvency)published
• 1.2.1.gTax treatment of a U.S. citizen/resident with foreign income (e.g., tax treaties, Form 2555, Form 3520 and Form 5471)published
• 1.2.1.hOther income (e.g., scholarships, barter income, hobby income, alimony, nontaxable combat pay, unearned income, taxable recoveries, NOL, illegal income)published
• 1.2.1.iConstructive receipt of incomepublished
• 1.2.1.jConstructive dividends (e.g., payments of personal expenses from a business entity)published
• 1.2.1.kPassive income and loss (e.g., loss limitations)published
• 1.2.1.lPass-through income (e.g., Schedule K1, income, deductions, basis, qualified business income (QBI) items)published
• 1.2.1.mRoyalties and related expensespublished
• 1.2.1.nState/local income tax refund and other itemized deduction recoveriespublished
• 1.2.1.o1099 MISC, 1099 NEC, 1099 K reporting, irregularities, and correctionspublished

1.2.2 Retirement income

• 1.2.2.aBasis in a traditional IRA (Form 8606)published
• 1.2.2.bComparison of and distributions from traditional and Roth IRAspublished
• 1.2.2.cDistributions from qualified and nonqualified plans (e.g., pre-tax, after- tax, rollovers, Form 1099R, qualified charitable distribution)published
• 1.2.2.dExcess contributions and tax treatment (e.g., penalties)published
• 1.2.2.ePenalties and exceptions on premature distributions from qualified retirement plans and IRAspublished
• 1.2.2.fProhibited transactions and tax effectspublished
• 1.2.2.gIRA conversions and recharacterization (Form 8606)published
• 1.2.2.hRequired minimum distributions and excess accumulationspublished
• 1.2.2.iLoans from qualified planspublished
• 1.2.2.jTaxability of Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefitspublished
• 1.2.2.kTaxability of net unrealized appreciation (NUA)published
• 1.2.2.lInherited retirement accountspublished
• 1.2.2.mForeign pensions and retirement incomepublished

1.2.3 Property, real and personal

• 1.2.3.aSale or disposition of property including depreciation recapture rules and 1099Apublished
• 1.2.3.bCapital gains and losses (e.g., netting effect, short-term, long-term, mark- to market, virtual currency)published
• 1.2.3.cBasis of assets (e.g., purchased, gifted or inherited)published
• 1.2.3.dBasis of stock after stock splits and/or stock dividends (e.g., research, schedules, brokerage records)published
• 1.2.3.ePublicly traded partnerships (PTP) (e.g., sales, dispositions, losses)published
• 1.2.3.fSale of a personal residence (e.g., IRC Section 121 exclusions)published
• 1.2.3.gInstallment sales (e.g., related parties, original cost, date of acquisition, possible recalculations and recharacterization)published
• 1.2.3.hOptions (e.g., stock, commodity, ISO, ESPP)published
• 1.2.3.iLike-kind exchangepublished
• 1.2.3.jNon-business bad debtspublished
• 1.2.3.kInvestor versus traderpublished

1.2.4 Adjustments to Income

• 1.2.4.aSelf-employment taxpublished
• 1.2.4.bRetirement contribution limits and deductibility (e.g., earned compensation requirements)published
• 1.2.4.cHealth savings accountspublished
• 1.2.4.dOther adjustments to income (e.g., student loan interest, alimony, moving expenses for active military, write-in adjustments)published
• 1.2.4.eSelf-Employed Health Insurancepublished

1.3 Deductions and Credits

1.3.1 Itemized deductions and QBI

• 1.3.1.aMedical, dental, vision, long-term care expensespublished
• 1.3.1.bVarious taxes (e.g., state income, personal property, real estate)published
• 1.3.1.cInterest expense (e.g., mortgage interest, investment interest, tracing rules, points, indebtedness limitations)published
• 1.3.1.dCharitable contributions (e.g., cash, noncash, limitations, documentation required)published
• 1.3.1.eNonbusiness casualty and theft losses in presidentially declared disaster areaspublished
• 1.3.1.fOther itemized deductionspublished
• 1.3.1.gAllowed itemized deductions for Form 1040-NRpublished
• 1.3.1.hQualified Business Income Deductionpublished

1.3.2 Credits

• 1.3.2.aChild and dependent care creditpublished
• 1.3.2.bChild tax credit and credit for other dependentspublished
• 1.3.2.cEducation creditspublished
• 1.3.2.dForeign tax creditpublished
• 1.3.2.eEarned income tax credit (e.g., paid preparer's earned income credit checklist, eligibility and disallowance)published
• 1.3.2.fAdoption credits (e.g., carryovers, limitations, special needs)published
• 1.3.2.gACA net premium tax creditpublished
• 1.3.2.hOther credits (refundable and nonrefundable) (e.g., health coverage tax credit, energy credits, Retirement savings contribution credit)published

1.4 Taxation

1.4.1 Taxation

• 1.4.1.aAlternative minimum tax and credit for prior yearpublished
• 1.4.1.bHousehold employeespublished
• 1.4.1.cUnderpayment penalties and interestpublished
• 1.4.1.dSelf-employment taxpublished
• 1.4.1.eExcess Social Security withholdingpublished
• 1.4.1.fTax provisions for members of the clergypublished
• 1.4.1.gTax provisions for members of the militarypublished
• 1.4.1.hIncome in respect of decedent (e.g., allocations)published
• 1.4.1.iNet investment income taxpublished
• 1.4.1.jAdditional Medicare taxpublished
• 1.4.1.kUncollected Social Security and Medicare taxpublished
• 1.4.1.lOther taxes (e.g., first time homebuyer credit repayment, IRC Section 965 transition tax)published

1.5 Advising the Individual Taxpayer

1.5.1 Advising the individual taxpayer

• 1.5.1.aReporting obligations for individuals (1099, bartering, cash)published
• 1.5.1.bProperty sales (e.g., homes, stock, businesses, antiques, collectibles)published
• 1.5.1.cEducation planning (e.g., lifetime learning credit, IRC Section 529 plans)published
• 1.5.1.dEstate planning (e.g., gift versus inheritance, trusts, family partnerships, charitable giving, LTC, life insurance)published
• 1.5.1.eRetirement planning (e.g., annuities, IRAs, employer plans, early retirement rules, required minimum distribution, beneficiary ownership, charitable distributions from an IRA)published
• 1.5.1.fMarriage and divorce (e.g., divorce settlement, common-law, community property, alimony)published
• 1.5.1.gItems that will affect future/past returns (e.g., carryovers, net operating loss, Schedule D, Form 8801, negative QBI carryover)published
• 1.5.1.hInjured spousepublished
• 1.5.1.iInnocent spousepublished
• 1.5.1.jEstimated tax and penalty avoidance (mid-year estimated tax planning)published
• 1.5.1.kAdjustments, deductions, and credits for tax planning (e.g., timing of income and expenses)published
• 1.5.1.lCharacter of transaction (e.g., use of capital gain rates versus ordinary income rates)published
• 1.5.1.mAdvantages and disadvantages of MFJ/MFS/HOH filing statuses in various scenarios. (joint and several liability)published
• 1.5.1.nConditions for filing a claim for refund (amended returns)published
• 1.5.1.oPenalty of perjurypublished

1.6 Specialized Returns for Individuals

1.6.1 Estate Tax

• 1.6.1.aGross estate, taxable estate (calculations and payments), unified credit, life insurance, and filing requirementspublished
• 1.6.1.bJointly-held propertypublished
• 1.6.1.cMarital deduction and other marital issues (e.g., portability election)published
• 1.6.1.dLife insurance, IRAs and retirement planspublished
• 1.6.1.eEstate filing requirements and due dates (Form 706, Form 1041)published

1.6.2 Gift Tax

• 1.6.2.aGift-splittingpublished
• 1.6.2.bAnnual exclusionpublished
• 1.6.2.cUnified creditpublished
• 1.6.2.dEffect on estate tax (e.g., Generation skipping transfer tax)published
• 1.6.2.eFiling requirements (Form 709)published

1.6.3 International Information Reporting

• 1.6.3.aFiling and reporting requirements and due dates (e.g., FBAR, Form 8938, Form 8865, Form 5471, Form 3520)published
• 1.6.3.bCovered accounts (e.g., FBAR, Form 8938)published
• 1.6.3.cPotential penalties (e.g., failure to file, underreporting, substantially incomplete, statute of limitations, reduction of tax attributes)published
• 1.6.3.dDistinctions between FBAR and Form 8938 requirementspublished
• 1.6.3.eOwnership of a foreign corporation (GILTI, IRC Section 965 transition tax)published
• 1.6.3.fInternational voluntary disclosure optionspublished